AHRC

BACKGROUND

The African Human Rights Camp is a two-week long intensive training course in human rights, designed for people working in the field of human rights education and advocacy in Africa. Over the past ten years the training course was conducted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Morocco, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, and Nigeria.
The 11th African Human Rights Camp was held in Namibia from 24 September to 6 October 2006. It was organised by the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA) in collaboration with Legal Assistance Centre in Namibia.

OBJECTIVES

to provide training and capacity on the African Human Rights system;
to encourage the use of human rights protection mechanisms in addressing human rights violations in Africa;
to encourage greater participation in the African Union institutions charged with human rights promotion and protection;
to develop a pool of resource people (trainers) who can articulate and teach human rights in their own countries and regions;
to provide a forum for the sharing of information concerning country-specific human rights situations;
to strengthen networking among human rights NGOs in Africa.

SOME TOPICS

Philosophical and historical basis of human rights;

Universality and cultural relativity of human rights;

International and regional systems for the protection and promotion of human rights;

RESOURCE PERSONS AND METHODOLOGY

Sessions will be led by resource persons with experience and expertise, gathered through their work in non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations, and in academe. The course will employ a combination of lectures, workshops, group discussions, role plays, reading sessions and film shows.

PARTICIPANTS

Only applications from NGOs and governmental institutions in Africa, who are currently involved in human rights education and advocacy on the continent, will be considered;

The maximum number of participants is limited to twenty-five (25);
The applicant’s professional and working experience, as well as future work plans will be considered during selection;
Regional and gender representation will also be taken into account;
Applicants must be able to communicate in written and spoken English;
Applicants representing NGOs who have not participated in past African Human Rights Camps will be given priority;
Only one (1) application per organisation will be considered.

DEADLINE

Applications must be received by HURISA before or on Friday 21 July 2006. The Course Secretariat reserves the right to extend the deadline. Send applications to:

NOTIFICATION

The list of participants will be announced on Friday 28 July 2006. Only successful applicants will be notified. If you have not been contacted by that date, please assume that your application was unsuccessful. Successful applicants will enter into a formal contract with the organisers.

DURATION

The course will be held over a period of two weeks. Participants must be prepared to undertake a programme of intensive study and exchange. Sessions will normally be held from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Mondays to Fridays.

LANGUAGE

The medium of instruction and discussion will be English.

COURSE MATERIALS

Participants will be given a set of basic human rights reading materials upon registration and summaries of lectures. Most of the course materials will be in English. Participants will be required to prepare a paper to be delivered at the Camp.

COURSE FEES

The course fee of 250 US dollars is compulsory and covers tuition, materials and lectures. The course fee is non-refundable.

TRANSPORTATION, ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS

Participants are encouraged to raise funds to cover their own transportation, accommodation and meals expenses. Accommodation and Meals for two weeks cost 1,700 US dollars.

SUBSIDIES

Limited funds are available to cover either the costs of international flights or the costs of accommodation and meals during the course. Requests for any financial assistance must be made in writing, on behalf of the applicant, by the head of an organisation to the AHRC 2006 Course Secretariat (c/o HURISA). Subsidies will be granted on merit and at the discretion of the organisers.

INSURANCE

Participants are responsible for their own medical, luggage and accident insurance as the organisers will not be responsible for any such costs incurred by participants.

ATTENDANCE

It is compulsory for participants to attend all the course activities. Any participant failing to complete the course without any valid reason, will repay the full cost of participation.

CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE

Participants who have attended all the course activities will be awarded a certificate of attendance. Exceptions will only be made where a valid reason for missing a session is submitted by the participant and accepted by the Course Secretariat.

BODY OF APPEAL

The Course Secretariat is the only body of appeal at the Camp, and its decisions are final. The Secretariat will be guided by internationally accepted grievance procedures in cases of grievances or disputes.

Constitution of South Africa

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